Today in History- July 1

Canada Day

Happy Birthday!
1804 George Sand, author (Indiana)
1872 Louis Bleriot, aviator (first to fly an airplane across the English Channel)
1899 Charles Laughton, actor (The Private Life of Henry VIII, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
1908 Estee Lauder, cosmetics mogul
1902 William Wyler, director (Roman Holiday, Funny Girl, Ben- Hur)
1916 Olivia de Havilland, actress (To Each His Own, The Heiress, Gone with the Wind)
1930 Bobby Day, singer (Rockin' Robin)
1931 Leslie Caron, actress (Father Goose, Gigi)
1934 Sydney Pollack, actor/director (Out of Africa, Tootsie, Sabrina)
1934 Jamie Farr, actor (Klinger from M*A*S*H, The Cannonball Run)
1935 David Prowse, actor (guy in the Darth Vader suit in the first Star Wars movies)
1936 Wally Amos, founder of Famous Amos cookies
1939 Karen Black, actress (The Great Gatsby, Nashville, Airport 75)
1945 Debbie Harry, singer from Blondie (Heart Of Glass)
1947 Shirley Hemphill, actress (Shirley from What's Happening)
1952 Dan Aykroyd, comedian/actor (Saturday Night Live, Dragnet, Ghostbusters)
1955 Keith Whitley, country singer (I'm No Stranger To The Rain)
1961 Princess Diana, Princess of Wales
1961 Carl Lewis, Olympic Gold Medalist
1967 Pamela Anderson, actress (Baywatch)
1970 Henry Simmons, actor (NYPD Blue)
1972 Claire Forlani, actress (The Rock, Meet Joe Black, Mallrats)
1977 Liv Tyler, model/actress (Armageddon, Lord of the Rings series, Jersey Girl)


Deaths:
1566 Nostradamus, physician, astrologer, prophet
1896 Harriet Beecher Stowe, author (Uncle Tom's Cabin)
1991 Michael Landon, actor (Little House on the Prairie)
1995 Wolfman Jack, DJ
1997 Robert Mitchum, actor (Cape Fear (63), The Night of the Hunter)
1999 Forrest Mars, Sr, candy inventor (M&M)
2000 Walter Matthau, actor (Odd Couple, The Bad News Bears)
2004 Marlon Brando, actor (The Godfather, A Street Car Named Desire)
2005 Luther Vandross, singer (Here and Now)

Events:
1867 Canada becomes independent under the British North America Act 1867.
1898 Battle of San Juan Hill starts.
1971 Amendment XXVI - Voting age set at 18 years old.
1997 China gets Hong Kong back.

History Lesson:
Did you know...

Michael Landon was a record holding javelin thrower.

Walter Matthau said to be the inspiration of the original voice for Homer Simpson.

David Prowse trained Christopher Reeve for his part in Superman where Marlon Brando was paid more than the main character Superman.